It was seldom Artorias found himself up in the northern lands, but following their wedding, Briar had wanted a chance to go back and visit her family in their new home in the northern mountains. Artorias was fond of the Armada, and Sirius had a special place in his life, so any chance he got to spend time with his in-laws was a win in his book. Plus it gave him an opportunity to get to explore some of the northern lands and become more familiar with them and Boreas as a whole. During their time in the cold, snowy north, Artorias had heard from some of the Armadan wolves about a shifting of the mountains, crumbling and opening up new paths and tunnels in the cave system to the west. Well, that just sounded like an adventure waiting to happen! So after asking Briar to accompany him for some light spelunking, Artorias navigated his way around the craggy paths of the mountains that wound around to the old desolate caves covered in strange glyphs and paintings.

"I thiiiink they said it was down this path," Artorias mused to himself as he led the way into the winding tunnels of the ancient caves, the tunnels still spacious enough for both him and Briar to fit comfortably through. Fortunately, this seemed like one of the more major cave systems, so the fear of getting stuck or cramped anywhere seemed to not be a worry. Artorias had been in these caves once before, but it had been some time, and he hadn't really gone far into them. This was where the black market had been set up that Sirius took him to over a year ago. "This is where I found Lia," he explained to Briar as they passed by one of the large chambers near the entrance. Art followed the directions given to him, navigating by memory and word of mouth alone. Eventually, they came upon a fissure in one of the cave walls that revealed another tunnel beyond, water dripping from the crack. It was fresh, recently caused by some sort of tectonic shift. This had to be the tunnel he'd heard about!

Giving Briar a motion to follow him, Artorias shimmied his way nimbly through the opening and into the more spacious tunnel, following it down a short ways until it opened up to an incredible sight. the tunnel let out to an alcove in the side of the mountain, except instead of a barren rocky shelf, this recess was filled with foliage of all kinds, growing and thriving like a clearing in a forest! Artorias gasped and gawked at the splendor, amber eyes going wide as he stepped further out onto the ledge. The alcove was protected from the biting winds and icy snow by the mountain all around it, allowing the plants to grow and keeping the area much more temperate than the rest of the frigid north, feeling more like a cool spring day than the dead of winter.

"Have you ever seen anything like this before?" Artorias asked Briar, mostly in rhetorical stupor. He padded across the patches of lush grass that spread like plush carpet across what should have been hard rock. Artorias made his way through the copse of willow trees, sweeping their long tendril branches aside to go inspect the pool of crystal clear water in the center of the alcove, still in awe of this hidden grove of beauty tucked away in the mountains.

"Artorias & Briar Carpathius"

Briar followed Artorias as he led the way on another adventure through the mountains after hearing about some paths that had recently opened up while they were visiting her family. As soon as they mentioned it to Artorias she knew her adventure loving husband would want to go investigate so she was far from surprised when he asked her to come with him. Luckily the mountain passes and caves that they were working their way through weren't too difficult to navigate and weren't too cramped so exploring them was moderately easy. Briar's eyes widened in surprise when Artorias mentioned that this was where they had gotten Lia as they passed by one of the larger caves, replying, "Really?" as she looked in and tried to imagine the market that she had been told about before. She had still never seen such a thing, but it was probably for the best. She doubted that she could go to such a thing and not try to leave with all of the captured wolves to set them free.

Bringing her attention back to the path in front of them, they reached a crack in the stone that was clearly a more recent development than some of the older, more weathered stone around them. She nodded as he motioned her to follow and after Art had slipped through she did the same—though with a little more ease than he did with her significantly smaller frame and build. The passage that they stepped into was more spacious than the one they just left, but they weren't in it for long as they made their way through into a large open chamber. An equal amount of shock and surprise colored her expression as she stopped next to artorias, taking in the lush, hidden paradise that was tucked away in the mountains. In here it felt like they were no longer in the bitter winter of the north, but instead in a temperate spring that was a welcome reprieve from the cold they had been in for a bit now.

She gave a small shake of her head at his awed question, replying, "No... Nothing like this." She followed him into the lush vegetation as he stepped down into the plush grass and draping willow trees, her turquoise gaze taking all of it in with awe. It was beautiful and so unexpected after walking through the frigid northern landscape. When they reached the pool that took up the center of the sheltered get away, she looked down at the water and gasped softly, her mouth hanging open with shock. "Art! Look!" she gasped, pointing out the splashes of color from paintings that lined the bottom of the pool. There were shapes of all sorts of animals and figures, flowers and trees, the moon and stars. The water was so perfectly clear and still that seeing them all was easy.

"Artorias & Briar Carpathius"

Artorias gawked in awe at the breathtaking beauty of the grotto-grove they had found themselves in. Briar confirmed what he had suspected when she told him that she had never seen anything like this before either. How all of this dense and lush foliage grew so abundant in a harsh landscape like the rocky alcove of the northern mountain range was beyond his explanation. Perhaps Gwynevere with all of her knowledge of botany would be able to explain it more clearly to him, but as it stood, this place was a veritable topsy-turvy wonderland of plant life more akin to a temperate forest than a mountain. Artorias walked alongside Briar as the two approached the central pool of crystal clear water surrounded by mammoth willow trees, their long tendrils forming a natural curtain around them to conceal the two lovers in their own little world. Everything about this place felt mystical, from the warm air to the thriving vegetation and flowers. More shockingly, they were the only living things that he could see here, the wolves lost in a private and secluded paradise all to themselves.

The soft gasp Briar let out brought Artorias' gaze back to his wife. Amber eyes followed her attention and spotted the rippling colors beneath the pool of water, squinting to make out what they were, and then gasping in awe like she had when he did. Paintings of a menagerie of animals, scenes of stars and moons, landscapes of forests and mountains were painted all along the walls of the pool, almost perfectly visible through the water as clear as glass. His eyes moved over the paintings, taking them in with amazement. How long had this all been here, hidden away by time and the earth? The mere concept of it floored Artorias! "This is incredible...!" he stated while he stepped closer to the edge of the pool. Artorias gazed down into the water, staring through his reflection to the cave paintings below. Then he raised an azure paw and slowly dipped it into the pool. To his surprise, the water was actually pretty mild! He didn't know why, but he'd expected it to be frigid. "The water's warm! Just like the air here." None of this made sense to the young brute, but he wasn't about to question how something this magnificent could come to be. He'd just enjoy the natural splendor of this wonderful place.

Turning back to fix an amazed grin at Briar, his eyes drifted past her to one of the willow trees near her. "Briar, look at the trees too!" exclaimed an excited Artorias. Just like the walls of the pool, the trunks of every tree were also painted with those same effigies of animals and natural elements. It was as if someone had turned the entire cave into a mural of the wonders of the natural world, a time capsule untouched by anyone to record the world the artist observed. "Who do you think made all of this?" He didn't expect Briar to have an answer, of course, and Art was more just musing aloud.

"Artorias & Briar Carpathius"

She was still examining the paintings that almost seemed like they were closed behind a pane of glass with the crystal clear water when she saw the surface of the water ripple and looked up to see Artorias putting one of his azure paws into the pool. She was surprised to hear that the water was warm, but sure enough she confirmed it as well when she dipped a tawny paw into it. It was like a little capsule of spring hidden away in the mountains and she was struggling to understand what this place was or how it could exist. She couldn't help the grin on her lips though as she took it all in. It all felt magical and she was so glad that they happened to find this place.

Her ears perked when her husband pointed out the trees around them and she lifted her turquoise gaze to look, spotting the murals painted on the tree trunks through the willow branches that hung down and swept the ground around them. Turning away from the pool, she walked over to the closest tree and pushed her way past their branches, lifting one of her paws to rest it gently on the mural of a white wolf that was howling toward the branches. Briar gave a shake of her head at his question about who might have created all of this and chuckled, replying, "Someone with a lot of time on their paws." She turned back toward him and slipped her head through the thin branches to look at him again with a grin. "I wonder how long all of this has been here... Everything is so preserved here that it's hard to tell."

The murals didn't really need to endure the elements since it was so sheltered from he wind and cold so nothing really looked very aged other than the fact that whatever paint they had used had seeped into the bark somewhat and had broken up slightly just by virtue of the trees growing and changing over time. She was so curious about all of it and it felt even more wondrous knowing that she was getting to experience all of this with Artorias. He brought out a curiosity and a wonder about the world that she didn't usually feel and she just loved seeing the excitement on his face when they found something interesting or beautiful.

"Artorias & Briar Carpathius"

While Briar wandered around the vernal grotto with him, gawking at the splendor of the strange and magnificent sights, Artorias followed close by her side. He studied the paintings with his wife, focusing in on the creatures he recognized and those he didn't, like the strange four-limbed ones that stood on their back legs in every painting. Briar mentioned that it had to be someone with a lot of time to kill and Artorias simply chuckled in response. That was the understatement of the year if they were going by the sheer number of paintings. Some even overlapped in places, like the artist had continued to be struck with inspiration long after they had run out of canvas to cover. This place really was something special. Art was glad he got to share this incredible moment with Briar. She encouraged his wanderlust and his love of adventure, and though he'd explored many lands with other wolves, Briar was by far his favorite adventuring companion.

When Briar slipped her head through the thin branches of the willows to reply to him, Artorias couldn't hold back the snort and smirk the humorous sight brought from him. It was moments like this that reminded Artorias why he and Briar meshed so well together. Even with all of her grace and beauty and regality, Briar was still just as silly and goofy as he was at times, unafraid to have fun and step outside the box with him. She was the kind of girl who knew how to charm a room full of important political figures, yet also enjoyed coloring outside the lines. She was lively and rebellious, decorous and inspiring. She reminded him on a near daily basis why life was worth living, from the smallest of ways to the grandest of adventures. Seeing her eating all of this discovery up with a ravenous hunger for knowledge just made her even more beautiful in his eyes, and without even trying Briar managed to steal his breath away.

Wearing a crooked smile on his lips, Artorias followed Briar through the curtain of willow fronds, the willowy branches parting easily around his massive frame like a beaded curtain. The moment his fiery amber eyes laid upon her, Art felt his heart race. Gods, he was so in love with her... Seeing her in her element while she studied the paintings on the tree trunks left him in awe of all that she was. He stood there for a minute longer, half draped by the willow branches, then he stepped fully behind the veil of foliage to lose himself in the private world they had discovered together. The Aegis stepped up behind his Queen, moving to brush his side against hers from rump to shoulder while he joined her. "Y'know, you look extra beautiful when you're focused on something interesting," he commented in a not-so-subtle flirt, capping it off with an even less subtle swat of his bushy tail to her shapely rump with a chuckle and a grin.

"Artorias & Briar Carpathius"